Misfeasance
by Trufreak89
Summary: Mattie takes it upon herself to get to know the human girl her little sister is so smitten over; the same human Carmilla ended up killing their mother for.
1. Chapter 1

**Misfeasance:** **/Noun/ -** _A willful, inappropriate act. The wrongful and injurious exercise of lawful authority._

* * *

"I can't believe classes have started again! Like nothing ever happened and everything's all tickety-boo!" Laura huffs as she hears movement behind her. Carmilla is up earlier than she expected. The vampire has taken to sleeping most of the day away, while her girlfriend is off trying to get an education. "God, this place! How can the board possibly expect people to believe that everything is normal?" .

"Because it is..." Laura jumps in her seat as the silky voice of Matska Belmonde sounds behind her. The chair of the board is wearing her usual smug expression when Laura turns to face her. She's dressed in a tailored grey pantsuit, looking the epitome of power and authority. Her silk blouse is a blood red colour that matches the striking colour of her painted lips.

"Silas has undergone a transitional period of late, but normal services have resumed." Mattie chirps, looking as camera-ready as ever. Carmilla's older sister is practically a walking public service announcement. Whereas, Laura just feels like a puppet on a string.

"Is that the official stance of the administration? Let's just take the blue pill, and ignore all the insane stuff that happens here?" Laura snaps. Carmilla has warned her about back chatting the ancient vampire; but it's just not in her nature to roll over. Journalism is about telling the truth. It might not always be pretty, but it is what it is. It isn't supposed to be about warping the truth to fit the view of the establishment.

Mattie lets out a laugh. It's short, sharp and humourless. She moves further in to the parlour, coming to a stop right in front of Laura's chair. The younger girl shuffles apprehensively. The weight of Mattie's stare alone is heavy enough to keep her rooted to the spot.

"Last time I checked, the Silas News Network is part of the administration." Her voice drips with sarcasm. She has Laura over a barrel; and they both know it. The budding journalist can't walk away from the SNN any more than she can walk away from Silas. Laura has to stay; she owes it to the kids from the Voice.

"Is that what you're here for? To make more Silas propaganda for the masses." Laura twists her face. She's willing to toe the line for Carmilla's sake, but that doesn't mean she has to pretend to like Mattie. "Because if you're here for Carmilla she's sleeping-"

"I'm well aware of that." Mattie glances over at the window. It's early in the afternoon and the sun is streaming in. Carmilla is just a toddler in comparison to her big sister. Like most children, she needs to nap to keep from getting cranky. Mattie outgrew the need to sleep long ago.

"Okay...so why are you here?" Laura is even more on edge than usual. This is the first time she's had to deal with the older woman on her own. LaF and Perry both have classes, and Carmilla is sound asleep upstairs.  
It's just the two of them; and the way Mattie is watching her is making Laura uncomfortable. She's staring at the freshman like she's lunch. "Um...You know what, I just remembered I'm supposed to be at a study group."

Laura goes to stand, but promptly finds herself shoved back down in to her seat. Mattie's hand remains on her shoulder as she looms over the tiny human girl. "I'm sure it can wait."

There's no edge to her voice. Her tone is as upbeat as it is during a broadcast. The threat is in her eyes alone. They're cold and black, like the eyes of a shark. Laura gulps. She thinks about calling out for Carmilla.

As if reading her mind, Mattie presses a single, perfectly manicured, finger to Laura's lips. "Don't get any foolish ideas about waking my dear sister. It's you I came to see."  
"W-w-why?" Laura stutters. There's no point in trying to pretend she isn't afraid. The vampire can probably hear her heart getting ready to explode in her chest.

"Isn't it customary to get to know the family of the girl you're dating?" Mattie answers, still wearing that smug smile of hers. She always looks so damn sure of herself. Laura supposes it comes from being as old as time.

"I think I've met enough of Carm's 'family' to last me a lifetime." Laura bites out. She just can't help herself. Mattie lets out a soft chuckle. The human girl is feisty. She likes that. She can see why Carmilla chose this one. Mattie tells her as much.  
"No wonder Carmilla is so smitten with you. So wide-eyed and innocent, yet so fierce at the same time. You're quite the quandary, Miss Hollis."

"I wouldn't say that –" Laura is silenced again when Mattie places her finger back against her lips.  
"Tsk tsk. I'm talking now. Didn't anybody ever teach you to respect your elders?"  
"I –"  
"There you go again. Interrupting." Mattie shakes her head with a condescending frown. Her expression smooths out again as she leans in close, running the tip of her finger over Laura's bottom lip and along her jaw. "I'm half tempted to take you over my knee and teach you some manners..."

"Mattie! You didn't mention you were dropping by." Carmilla swoops in to the room just as Laura is getting ready to start screaming bloody murder. Of course, by this time, the older vampire has moved clean across the room and is looking entirely innocent as she embraces her little sister.

"It was a spur of the moment thing. I was passing by on the way to a board meeting." Mattie lies with ease; leaving Laura wondering just what the hell she was really doing there in the first place. She doesn't feel like hanging around waiting to find out.

"Carm, I've got a study group. I'll catch you later." Laura keeps her gaze down low as she presses a bashful kiss to her girlfriend's cheek and mumbles an excuse to leave. She feels two sets of eyes on her all the way out the door.

* * *

A few days pass without any kind of major incidents at Silas. Mattie doesn't come back to the apartment and Laura tries to put her strange visit to the back of her mind. It works. For a little while at least.

Laura is so focused on taking notes for the class she's sitting in that she fails to notice the door of the lecture hall opening. A freshman wanders in, holding a folded over slip of paper. He hands it over to the professor, who stops rambling long enough to read it. Pushing his glasses up on to his forehead, he squints at the crowd of young, expectant faces staring at him. "Do we have a Miss Hollis in this class?"

Laura tentatively raises her hand in the air. She's hyper aware that everyone else in the lecture theatre is watching her. "Right. Good. You're wanted in the Dean of Students' office." With that, he picks up right where he left off and goes back to giving his lecture. Laura somehow manages to bite back the response of 'But she's dead' that lingers on her tongue.

It takes twice as long as it should for Laura to reach the administration building. She drags her feet the whole way. In the few minutes it takes her to get there she manages to convince herself that the Dean has risen from the crater under the Lustig. She half expects her to be waiting there, patiently in her office, to gobble Laura up the second she steps through the door.

There's no receptionist outside the Dean's office. Clearly another casualty of the budget cuts plaguing the school. Laura knocks twice, but doesn't get an answer. Finally, she pushes the door open, hoping this is all some kind of cruel prank; or maybe Carmilla's way of getting her out of class early.

Laura isn't that lucky.

When she steps inside the Dean's old office she finds Mattie sitting at the antique desk in the centre of the room. She glances up from the papers she's busy pouring over and gives Laura a wave of her hand. "Ah, Miss Hollis. About time. Sit." Laura stays standing. It's her only viable form of protest.

"Suit yourself." Mattie shrugs. She pushes her chair back from the desk, crossing her long stocking clad legs over one another. Her hands come to rest on her knees as she flashes Laura her superior smile. "I'm sure you're wondering why I summoned you here."

Sit. Summon. Stay.

Laura is feeling pretty sick of being spoken to like a dog. She bites down on her frustration, crossing her arms over her chest and forcing herself to keep her chin up. "What do you want, Mattie?" Laura can do a lot of things to hide her fear of the vampire, but she can't keep the tremor from her voice.

"What do I want?" Mattie repeats the question, her own tone as condescending as ever. "What. Do. I. Want..." Her shark like gaze remains fixed on Laura. It's making the human girl's skin crawl. She starts to regret not taking that seat as her knees begin to go weak.

The silence grows thicker as Mattie just sits there, staring away at her. She doesn't say another word until Laura eventually sits down in one of the wing-back chairs in front of her desk. The leather is cold and stiff, the cushions overstuffed.

Mattie gives her a small, satisfied, nod once she's settled. "I called you here on official business. A new Dean of Students has been chosen. The Silas News Network will be announcing it in tomorrow's broadcast."  
"Let me guess, you're the new Dean?"

"Well aren't you just as bright as a button?" Mattie lets out an airy laughs as she gets to her feet. She rounds the desk, perching on it right in front of Laura's chair. "Smart, tenacious, feisty...I can see why Carmilla puts up with you." The sudden change of topic catches Laura off guard. She's left gawking, her mouth hanging open as Mattie's sharp eyes rake suggestively over her.

"I...uh...Thanks?" Laura isn't sure how to take her comments. She thinks they might be some twisted kind of compliment, so she goes with that. "I'm planning on recording tomorrow's broadcast at lunch time. So if you want to come by –" She trails off as Mattie shrugs her blazer off, revealing a sleeveless blouse.

Despite her slender appearance, her arms are exceptionally ripped and toned. At first glance, her skin seems to be covered in a litany of scars. As Laura looks closer she realises there's a pattern to the raised welts that cover the tops of Mattie's arms and shoulders. They lead under her blouse, carrying on down out of sight. Laura doesn't mean to stare, but she just can't look away. The patterns in and of themselves are basic, but the overall effect is intricate and beautiful.

"Cicatrization." Mattie speaks up, startling the teenager out of her daze. "It's an ancient process of scarring the body for decoration. The marks tell the story of my ancestors."  
"They're beautiful." Laura compliments, her fingers itching to reach out and touch them. Mattie pushes off the desk, moving in on the younger girl.

"Hmm, they were very painful; but then, many of life's beauties involve some degree of pain. They were done when I was a child. It's why they never healed when I was turned. The act is dying out now. People see it as barbaric..." There's a wistful tone to her voice as she talks about her past. Mastka is more than just old. She's as ancient as the practise she is describing. Laura sometimes forgets just how long people like Mattie and Carmilla have been around; the things they must have seen.

"Some of these scars were meant only for princes and chiefs. As a woman I was never meant to receive them... Even back then, I never played by the rules." Her blood red lips curl in to a smirk as she places her hands on top of the chair, either side of Laura's head. "What about you, Laura? Do you like to play by the rules?" She leans in, far too close for comfort.

"Uh..." Whatever Laura's answer was going to be, it's cut short when Mattie surges forward, crushing her lips against the younger girl's. Laura opens her mouth to protest, but that only makes matters worse; Mattie's tongue snakes its way past her lips. The teen makes a strangled, choking, noise as she tries to pull away.

One of Mattie's hands grabs a fistful of Laura's hair, yanking her head back and exposing her neck. The other hand covers the girl's mouth the second their lips part, stopping her from crying out. Her fangs feel as sharp as razors with the points pressing down against her neck. "I could drain you dry without even batting an eyelid. I should kill you, for what you did to Mother..."

Laura mumbles frantically against the hand pressed to her mouth. "What was that, Dear? I didn't quite catch it." Curious, Mattie moves her hand to let her speak. Laura gasps for air, fighting the urge to scream. She doubts it will get her anywhere. Instead she mumbles out only one word. A name.  
"Carmilla..."

"My baby sister is the only reason you're still breathing, Child. Carmilla will grow tired of you soon enough, and when she does..." Mattie is grinning, right before her tongue darts out, running up the length of Laura's neck. "You'll die screaming my name." She stands abruptly, smoothing out her skirt with her hands and fixing Laura with her usual 'everything-is-fine-and-normal' smile.

"So, I'll be over at the apartment at lunch time for the broadcast. As the new, 'trusted', voice of Silas, you'll be the perfect person to announce my appointment as Dean. This school needs stability. We can give the student body what it needs." The freshman sits staring at the vampire, her eyes wide and her mouth bone dry. Her nails are digging in to the upholstery of the arms of the chair. The vampire's rapid change of demeanour is truly terrifying. She stands there, beaming down at Laura like the last few minutes never happened.

"You may go." She dismisses Laura with a wave of her hand. There are no threats to keep her quiet. No warnings for her not to mention their little chat to Carmilla. The new Dean of Students doesn't need to waste her breath – She's confident Laura won't utter a word to her girlfriend.

Mattie watches the traumatized human stumble over towards the door. It takes her two attempts to get the door open. She flies right out of it the second it does. Chuckling to herself, Mattie goes to sit back behind her desk. She pulls a compact mirror out of the top drawer, along with a tissue, and dabs at her smudged lipstick.

The taste of her sister's girlfriend still lingers on her lips long after she's gone. When it does eventually fade, it only leaves Mattie craving it more.


	2. Chapter 2

"Morning, Cupcake." Carmilla smiles as she's woken up by her girlfriend physically launching herself on to their bed. Their relationship has become a lot more physical of late, but even Carmilla is surprised by the fevered way Laura starts to kiss her. She doesn't get so much as a 'hello' before the younger girl is on top of her.

"It's four o'clock. Morning was over hours ago." Laura points out, still breathless from running all the way home. Her first instinct had been to head for somewhere safe. Some people might say that running from one vampire to another was quite literally jumping from the frying pan in to the fire – Laura would tell them all to go to hell.

"It's morning somewhere." Carmilla shrugs. She stretches out languidly, like a cat lying in the midday sun. Laura lies down beside her, cuddling in to her side and kissing her neck. "You're affectionate today. Not that I'm complaining."

"I missed you." Laura moves in even closer, until she's almost lying on top of her girlfriend. It's not an outright lie. She just omitted part of the truth, that's all. The teenager knows that if she keeps talking she'll spill every last detail of what happened between her and Mattie.

Laura can't let that happen. She can't come between Carmilla and the last of her family. She can't take any more away from her; Carmilla has lost enough already. So Laura stops talking. She puts her lips to better use, silencing whatever questions Carmilla can come up with next. It's easier that way.

Laura's hands tangle in the other girl's hair as their bodies melt together. Her lips taste of coffee and blood. It's a strange combination, but Laura has gotten used to it. The taste is as unique as Carmilla herself.

The vampire lets out a soft purr as Laura nips at her bottom lip. She knows where this is leading, and she's more than happy to help it along as she pulls Laura on top of her, sliding her hands under the teen's sweater. She tugs it over her head, tossing it carelessly aside.

"Carm!" Laura frowns. She hates her throwing clothes around the room like that. Of course, she isn't bothered by it enough to stop kissing Carmilla long enough to go and pick her sweater back up.

Their kisses become even more feverish as the rest of their clothes get tossed to the floor. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Laura worries about Perry coming in later and trying to do laundry while she and Carmilla are still in bed. She snorts with laughter at the mental imagethat thoughtconjures up.

Carmilla gives her a questioning look, but Laura just laughs more. "Never mind." She chuckles in to Carmilla's bare shoulder. She feels so much more at ease now she's with her. Laura doesn't feel the need to worry about Mattie's mind games – and she's pretty sure that's all earlier was – not when her hot as hell, bad-ass vampire girlfriend is peppering her stomach with a trail of feather-light kisses.

No, Matska Belmonde is the farthest thing from her mind right now.

* * *

"Carm, Carm wake up." Laura groans as she rolls over to shake her girlfriend awake. "We fell asleep. It's morning...Actual morning."  
"Too early." The vampire grumbles back at her, burying her face in the crook of Laura's neck. Her arms snake around the younger girl's waist, keeping her close.

"Carm! I need to get up! I have class. It's...Oh my god, it's lunch time!" The amusement in Laura's voice fades. "Shoot, shoot, shoot! I'm supposed to be recording a broadcast!" She dives out of bed, tugging on the first items of clothing she manages to pull out of the closet. She's running a comb through her hair and pulling it up in to a messy pony tail by the time Carmilla sits up in bed.

"I'm sure you're adoring fans can wait. _This_ adoring fan would quite like another hour, or two, of your time." She gives the younger girl a sultry look that, under any other circumstances, would have had Laura jumping back in to bed with her.

"My _fans_ might be willing to wait, but I doubt that the new Dean of Students will be." Laura scowls at her reflection in the mirror on the wall. She looks like she just woke up and threw on some clothes. Even if she had, it wasn't the best look for going on camera.  
"Oh, Mattie's doing another broadcast with you?"

"Yeah. She wants to...Wait. You knew she was taking the job as Dean? Why didn't you tell me?" Laura can't help but feel a stab of betrayal as she realises Carmilla isn't remotely surprised by her 'big' news. That hurt turns in to anger as Carmilla responds with a shrug.  
"She's my sister, Cupcake. She tells me stuff."

"And you didn't think to mention this to me? Your sister is taking over your mom's job as evil overload of Silas, and you didn't think to-"  
"Mattie's nothing like mother! She's not the enemy, Laura! If you'd put aside your _prejudices_ for two damn seconds you'd know that!"

"Prejudices?" Laura spits. "Are you serious? For your information, _your_ sister –"  
"Is right here." Mattie announces from behind her. Laura jumps a foot in the air.  
"Jeepers! Would it _kill_ you people to knock?"

"'You people'?" Mattie's eyes narrow. She folds her arms over her chest, the shoulder pads of her fitted black jacket bunching up. "Silas University does _not_ tolerate discrimination of any kind, be that gender, race, religion...or species."  
"Go stake yourself, Mattie." Laura shoves past her, leaving the two vampires alone in her bedroom.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Mattie rolls her eyes as she watches Laura go. "I get the feeling your little play-date doesn't like me."  
"She gets grouchy before her first morning cookie." Carmilla dismisses the younger girl's outburst as nothing more than crankiness from low blood sugar. "Give her a chance, Mattie. She'll warm up to you."

An hour later, things are still as frosty as ever between the two.

"I think we should do another take. You were a little flat on that last one. You're supposed to be happily declaring my appointment as Dean...You sound more like you're announcing your own execution." Mattie comments dryly.

"Maybe it's because that was the _fourth_ take you've made us do!" Laura growls out, frustrated by how long this broadcast is taking. "You know what, I'm done! Just pick one of the other recordings. I've got classes to get to."

"Anthropology 101, right?" Mattie doesn't miss a beat as she stands and flicks out her hair. "I'm heading that way myself. I'll walk with you." Laura's jaw drops open as her escape plan backfires. She looks to Carmilla for some kind of way out, hoping she'll offer to distract Mattie. The younger vampire is absolutely useless though, she's too engrossed in her book to help.

"Fine." She huffs out through gritted teeth. Mattie follows her out at a leisurely pace as the teenager storms out of the apartment. The sound of clicking heels against the concrete sidewalk has Laura's nerves on edge. She doesn't even think about slowing down to let the new Dean catch up to her – That's definitely not an option.

It's dark when Laura's last class gets out. Styria in the middle of January might as well be the North Pole after five o'clock. Laura regrets not grabbing a jacket on her way out earlier. She hunches over against the wind, wrapping her arms around herself in a bid to keep warm.

The rain starts halfway back to the apartment. The sky seems to literally crack open and start falling around the already frozen teen. There's a roar of thunder, followed shortly by a crack of lightning that hits a tree in the middle of the quad. Laura yelps, diving for cover in the nearest doorway.

Had she known whose apartment she was standing outside of, Laura would have run a mile in the other direction. As it is, she stands huddled under the porch light, the dimly lit bulb barely making a dent in the surrounding darkness. Another bolt of lightning strikes nearby, cementing Laura's feet where they are. There's no way she's going to risk a sprint across campus in this weather.

The heavy noise of the rain thudding against the ground masks the approaching clicking sound of expensive heels. The umbrella is the first thing that Laura notices. It's owner has it slung down low, covering her full head and face until they've joined her in the doorway.

"What do you want?" Laura growls as Mattie lowers the umbrella, shaking off the excess water before folding it back up. Despite the downpour, the new Dean looks as glamorous as ever. Laura, however, looks like a drowned rat. Her clothes are soaked right through, and her hair is plastered to her face.

"Well, for starters I would like to get in to my home." Mattie pulls out her keys, dangling them in front of the smaller girl's face. She smirks as Laura shuffles aside. The porch at the top of Mattie's stoop isn't that large, so she can't go very far without being exposed to the rain again.

Mattie deliberately lets her arm graze against Laura's side as she unlocks her door. "Are you coming in, or would you prefer to swim home?" She shoots over her shoulder, not even bothering to look back to see if Laura is in fact following her. Laura has every intention of refusing to go inside; but a well timed rumble of thunder has her darting inside after her.

The door closes behind her, leaving Laura standing alone in a dark passageway, dripping on to the plush carpet. "Mattie?" She calls after the vampire, hesitant to venture in to the encroaching darkness. A flickering of candle light at the bottom of the hall lures her forward.

Walking through an open door, she finds herself in a parlour similar to the one in the Dean's apartment. The décor is a little more tasteful, but the furniture is just as old and expensive. Mattie is standing with her back to the younger girl, lighting a pair of candles sitting on the mantle above the fireplace. There are half a dozen more candles already lit around the room.

"Wow, you're really taking these budget cuts pretty far, aren't you?" Laura scoffs. Mattie still hasn't said a word yet, and it's starting to unnerve her. Maybe that's the point. "Is this your place? Or is it for _visiting professors?_ "

The vampire ignores the petulant tone of the human girl's voice. She ignores her question, but finally turns and speaks. "Take off your clothes."  
"Excuse me?" Laura splutters in disbelief. Mattie looks so calm and collected as she stands there by the fire, her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed on the teenager.

"You heard me. Strip." There's no hesitation to her voice. Matska Belmonde is a woman who is used to making demands. "You're soaked through. You look like you're about to catch your death. Strip off and I'll get you a towel."

"I'm good." Laura squeaks, waving off the older woman's concern. Mattie doesn't take no for an answer though. She fixes Laura with a heavy stare, her overly pleasant smile looking even more unnerving than usual.

"I insist." Mattie pushes. "Kitty would never forgive me if I let you catch pneumonia... We didn't exactly get off on the right foot, but we both care about Carmilla. I'm trying to extend an olive branch here, Laura...If it's your modesty that is the problem, then you're welcome to use the bathroom upstairs. Leave your clothes outside the door and I'll have them dried for you."

"You can't switch on a light bulb, but you have a dryer?" Laura doesn't give in without one final dig; but she can't deny that she'd kill for a hot shower and some dry clothes right about now. "Fine...but there better be a lock on that bathroom door."

By the grace of god there _is_ a lock. On the flip side, there's no shower. There's an old fashioned claw-foot bathtub in the centre of the room. It's almost as deep as Laura is tall. She starts running the hot tap and strips off her wet clothes while the tub fills up.

There's a bottle of something that smells like lavender on a shelf above the bath. Laura pours a generous amount in to the water. The room begins to fill with steam, and the sweet, heady scent of the bubble bath.

Laura makes sure a towel is wrapped tightly around her as she opens the door and dumps her wet clothes in a pile in front of it. She turns the lock again, ensuring she won't be interrupted as she slips the towel off.

The water is searing hot as she steps in to the tub. It laps against her aching body, soothing some of the aches and pains of the day away. The lavender makes her eyes feel heavy. They start to drift closed several times after she's washed her hair. There's a good possibility she might drown if she doesn't get out soon; but Laura just can't summon the energy to pull herself out.

Until the bathroom door swings open.

She sits up, realises her mistake as Mattie's grin widens, and then slinks back under the water. Laura gathers an armful of bubbles around her to protect her decency. "What the hell? That door was locked!" She glares at the older woman as she walks right in, completely unabashed.

"It's an old lock." Mattie shrugs, a devious expression playing out across her face. "Maybe it broke. I didn't think you were still in here. I'd _never_ have walked in if I'd thought you were." It's a bare faced lie and they both know it.

"Well, now you know. Now leave!" Laura grunts. She can feel Mattie's eyes raking over the parts of her body that aren't covered by the water. Thankfully the tub is deep, so it's only her head and shoulders that are showing.

"My humble apologies. I've found you a robe for when you're ready to get out, and I've brewed a fresh pot of tea. You're clothes shouldn't take long to dry." Mattie lets her eyes linger for a while longer, before leaving and shutting the door behind her.

She bends to pick up Laura's clothes from the floor, making sure to pocket her cell phone – She'd rather they not have any pesky interruptions tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay, don't get eaten. Don't get eaten..." Laura takes a steadying breath as she unlocks the bathroom door again and steps out on to the landing. The silk robe that Mattie left her to wear barely reaches her knees, and she constantly tugs at it as she heads downstairs.

The storm is still raging outside, the torrent of rain sounding like bullets smashing off the stone tiles of the roof. Mattie hasn't turned any lights on downstairs, so Laura has to make her way to the parlour by candlelight. The old, creaking house is like something out of a horror movie; complete with blood thirsty vampire.

"Laura, dear. Come. Sit." Mattie offers her a sickly sweet smile as she ushers her over to an armchair by the fireplace. The flickering flames of the fire cast sinister shadows on the walls of the living room. The shadowy figures seem to follow Laura as she takes a seat in the offered chair.

"Have some tea. It will warm you through." Mattie moves with a cat-like grace as she fills two china cups from a teapot sitting on a side table. She adds cream and three lumps of sugar, seeming to know Laura has a sweet tooth.

Mattie hands over one cup, keeping the other for herself as she takes a seat in the chair opposite Laura's. She watches the younger girl with a keen interest as Laura just stares down at her tea. "Drink up. You don't want it to get cold."

Laura's throat is bone dry; it feels like she has a mouth full of sand as she struggles to swallow. It's still not enough to make her want to drink the tea though. She stares at the cup as though it might come alive and jump down her throat to try and choke her. "Is there something wrong with it?" Mattie asks when she still doesn't take a drink. Her expression is the picture of polite concern.

"Um..." Laura's grip on the teacup tightens. The fire at her side is stiflingly hot, and the walls seem to be closing in on her. She isn't sure how she gets herself in to these situations; Carmilla is right, she could get herself in to trouble in an empty room.

"You don't have to worry about me trying to poison you; if that's what you're concerned about?" Mattie lets out an amused chuckle. There's still mirth in her eyes, and a constant smile on her face, as she adds, "That's far too easy. Too painless. If I were to kill you, I'd think of something much more _fun._ "

"Good to know..." Laura chokes out, drinking her tea just to give her something else to focus on. She needs to get out. She'll take the violent storm raging outside, over Mattie's simmering anger any day. She finishes the hot drink in two quick gulps. "Are my clothes dry yet? I'd really like to go home."

"I'm sure you would." Mattie looks over at her her through hooded lids, making no offer to go fetch her clothes for her. She sips at her tea, savouring a few moments of peaceful silence.  
"Uh..." Laura's nerves are starting to fray. She needs to get out of this creepy house; and back to her equally creepy apartment, which used to belong to the Dean.

At least Carmilla will be there. She feels safe around her centuries old, bad-ass vampire girlfriend. She thinks about calling her for help, and then realises she doesn't have her phone on her anymore. "Did you take my phone?" She doesn't bother to hide the accusation in her voice. They're way past pleasantries at this point.

"Yes. I did." Mattie answers, pulling Laura's cell phone out of the pocket of her blazer and placing it on the arm of the chair. For one, whole, crazy, moment, Laura considers lunging for the phone and making a break for the front door. Even in heels, Mattie would probably catch her before she'd taken two steps.  
"Can I have it back?" Laura cringes at how childlike she sounds; but then, to the ancient vampire, just about anybody would sound infantile.

"Not just yet." Mattie puts her own teacup aside, focusing her attention wholly on the freshman sitting opposite her. Her gaze is predatory. She looks like she's sizing Laura up, figuring out just how many bites it would take to eat her all up. "I thought we could talk for a little bit first. Just you and I. No distractions."

"That didn't work out so well last time..." Laura bites her tongue. She really should learn when to keep her mouth shut.  
"Oh, I wouldn't say that." Mattie muses, watching as the younger girl's cheeks burn up. Her eyes linger on Laura's lips for an uncomfortable amount of time. "I felt we were finally getting somewhere. Didn't you?"

"You...you _kissed_ me!" Laura spits the word out like it's a profanity. The human girl is too much. So innocent and pure; just the kind of girl that Mattie takes such delight in corrupting. Once, not so long ago, Carmilla would have happily joined her. They would enjoy toying with girls like Laura, until they grew bored and finally ended their torment.

Those were simpler times, back before Mattie had to step up and take care of the family business. Once things at Silas are over and done with, Mattie thinks she'll try and convince Carmilla to return to Morocco with her. They've had some good times there over the years, and maybe spending time with her big sister might just help Carmilla screw her head back on right.

"Hmm, I did. I find it quite interesting that you didn't tell Carmilla about our little indiscretion." Mattie challenges. Her comments have the desired effect, riling the tiny human.  
" _Our?_ I didn't...you..." Laura splutters. She looks quite fetching when she's mad like that. Mattie makes a mental note to anger her more often; it shouldn't take much effort. "I didn't tell her because she worships the ground you walk on. I didn't want Carmilla to know that her precious big sister tried to come on to her girlfriend!"

"How very noble of you." Somehow, coming from the vampire's lips, that sounds more like an insult than a compliment. "That's exactly the kind of behaviour that will cost you your life; and maybe even Carmilla her life too. You're weak. Carmilla doesn't need the dead weight right now."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Laura snaps. She's way past terrified now, but she's too angry to be scared. Things were just fine between her and Carmilla, before Mattie showed up. Now all they seem to do is argue over the older vampire's intentions.

Carmilla keeps trying to defend her, but she's blinded by their history. Laura can see Mattie for what she really is; and she's barely a step down from the Dean. Maybe she should tell Carmilla what's been going on – Maybe it's time they both put all of their cards on the table. "Carm is nothing like you! She's changing! She has been for a while, and you know it! Even if you kill me, she won't go back to how she was!"

"Hmm, so you're saying I _should_ kill you?" The amusement is gone from Mattie's eyes as she stands, calming doing the button of her jacket back up and smoothing down her skirt; ever the professional.  
"What? No! I...I didn't say that!" Laura squeaks in terror. She moves to stand, but Mattie is too quick for her. She has her hands on the arms of Laura's chair before she can even lift herself up an inch.

"You smell like lavender and fear. It's quite intoxicating..." Laura struggles not to cringe as Mattie traces a finger along her jaw. Pissing off the ancient vampire is definitely not a good idea right now. "I wonder...Do you taste as sweet as you look?"

That's all the warning that Laura gets before Mattie is sinking her fangs in to the side of her neck. She cries out in pain. Nothing about the older woman's actions is gentle. Her lips latch on to Laura's throat, mercilessly drawing out the blood that is pumping rapidly through her body. She hums, pleasantly surprised to find she was right about just how sweet the girl's blood is.

Being as old as she is, Mattie doesn't need that much blood to survive. What she takes from Laura is out of pure greed. For the first time in centuries, she takes too much. The teenager stops struggling, going limp in the chair. Mattie rears back, not bothering to wipe the blood from her mouth. She can't remember the last time she was so sloppy when feeding.

Laura's heart has slowed by a few beats, but nothing too drastic. She's passed out in the armchair, looking as peaceful as if she'd just fallen asleep. The angry red marks on her neck are a stark contrast to her pale skin. Mattie knows it was stupid to bite her. Hell, she knew it was stupid before she did it. Something about Laura Hollis stops her from thinking straight.

"Damn it..." She growls under her breath. Carmilla may give her big sister a lot of slack, but Mattie is pretty sure that doesn't extend to feeding from her human girlfriend. Vampires are fiercely territorial. Mattie marking Laura is the vampire equivalent of peeing on a fire hydrant. Carmilla is going to be pissed.

The Dean of Students runs one of her sharp nails over the skin on the inside of her palm, drawing up a well of blood in her hand. She smears it over Laura's neck, making sure to cover the marks. They'll be gone inside of a few hours, so that takes care of one problem. The only thing left is to find a way to keep Laura quiet.

Mattie hasn't reached the grand old age she is by being stupid. A plan quickly formulates in the back of her mind. Fetching the human girl's clothes, she redresses her while she's out. Even knocked out cold, Laura's weight is of no consequence as Mattie lifts her easily from the chair. She cradles the tiny girl in her arms as she ventures out in to the hall.

A well placed kick of one of the wooden panels, which line the walls, opens the door to a secret passageway. From there, Mattie will be able to reach the Dean's old apartment without having to step out in to the rain. That will work to her advantage when it comes to her plan for dealing with her little sister's girlfriend.

* * *

Laura wakes up screaming.

Her hand reaches up to her neck as the memory of Mattie's fangs sinking in to her flesh comes flooding back to her. Her fingers run frantically over the smooth skin of her throat, trying to locate the puncture wounds. She comes up empty.

"Laura?" Carmilla appears out of nowhere. Her presence is the most reassuring thing Laura could have asked for. She throws her arms around her girlfriend, burying her face in her shoulder. "Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Carmilla runs her hand over the smaller girl's hair, in an effort to soothe her.

"Mattie bit me!" The floodgates open and Laura can't help the truth from spilling out. "I got caught up in the storm after class and she invited me in to her house, and she stole my clothes and made me drink tea, and we were talking about you...and then she bit me! She bit me!"

Carmilla watches her closely, her eyes scanning every inch of the other girl's flesh that she can see. Eventually her expression softens. "Laura, there's no marks. You must have been having a nightmare-"  
"What? No... No!" Laura scrambles out of her bed – she isn't quite sure how she got there – and stumbles over to the bedroom mirror.

Carmilla is right. There are no marks on her neck. There's not even a scratch.

She's dressed in her night clothes, her grey tank top and her _Adventure Time_ pyjama bottoms. A quick glance around the room shows her street clothes neatly folded and sitting on the dresser, her cell phone sitting right on top of them.

"No...I... I didn't dream it! It happened! I know it did!" For all of Laura's bluster, she isn't quite as certain as she claims to be. She's been stretched pretty thin lately; what with classes starting again, and trying to run the SNN while also investigating the murder of the kids at the Voice. Carmilla tells her just as much when she slips up behind her, wrapping her arms around the smaller girl's waist.

"You were sleeping when I came back. You've been out for hours... I figured you could use the sleep." Carmilla guides her back over towards the bed and climbs in beside her. She carries on stroking Laura's hair as the human cuddles in beside her.

"It was so real..." Laura mumbles, her fingers still running over the spot on her neck where Mattie had fed from her. "I could have sworn..." She shakes her head, finally letting herself relax against Carmilla as the memories of her encounter with Mattie begin to fade. Maybe it _was_ just a nightmare.

It's difficult to really focus, when Carmilla is kissing her forehead and whispering the sweetest things in to her ear. Despite being asleep for hours, she still feels completely exhausted. Her eyes begin to drift shut again, and it's a struggle to keep them open.

Carmilla notices her fighting to stay awake, reassures her that it's okay to go back to sleep. "I'm here. You're safe. No one is touching a hair on your head wile I'm around; Mattie included. Just rest. I'll still be here when you wake up...I'll always be here, Cupcake. You know that, right? Laura?"

Glancing down, Carmilla realises she's already fallen sound asleep again. She takes in the unusually pale pallor of her girlfriend's cheeks, and bites down on her lip as she inspects her neck again – Just to be on the safe side.

Satisfied that there is nothing to be seen, Carmilla settles her head down on Laura's pillow, preparing to keep a silent vigil over her sleeping girlfriend. Maybe it was time she spoke to Mattie about her and Laura making some kind of truce – She's sure Laura will come to love Mattie, if she just gives her a chance.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, LaF, I need a favour... It's kind of a _huge_ favour, actually." Laura catches LaFontaine just after breakfast, before they've had a chance to leave for their first class of the day.  
"Sure. No problem." LaF readily agrees, without waiting to hear what it is that Laura wants from them. It's the kind of friend they are. Laura feels like she has to explain first though. She doesn't want LaFontaine to rush off on a potential suicide mission with her without at least knowing what they're getting in to.

"You might not feel that way when I tell you what I need help with." She wrings her hands together, nervously looking over her shoulder to check Perry and Carmilla aren't within earshot. "I need you to be my lookout while I break in to Mattie's house."

She expects LaF to shoot her down and call her crazy. That's practically what Carmilla told her when she suggested the dream she had last night might not have been a dream. Of course her girlfriend had worded it a lot more diplomatically. Carmilla had tried to make it sound like Laura was having nightmares about the new Dean because of all the stress she's been under lately; but Laura doesn't buy it. Her hands moves absently to the side of her neck where, even if there are no tell tale marks on her skin, Laura knows for sure she was bitten.

"I said I was in." LaF shrugs nonchalantly, like Laura just asked if they wanted to go for ice cream with her. They probably heard the whole argument between Laura and Carmilla last night, so Laura doesn't need to explain why she wants to break in to the Dean's apartment. "When are we doing this thing?"

That's how they end up sneaking around outside Mattie's place at nine in the morning. The Dean is a busy woman, no doubt she was up and out of the house at the crack of dawn to sell off more of the campus. "How do we do this?" Laura asks, looking to LaF for guidance.

"What? Like I break in to places on a daily basis?" LaFontaine sounds affronted. After a moment's pause they add, "We could try around the back. Maybe there's an open window or something? Wait..." LaF thinks to try the front door. It surprises both of them when it just swings right on open.

"Of course, because who would be dumb enough to try and break in to the Dean of Student's house? Or, better yet, the home of an ancient vampire... In broad daylight." LaF huffs, but they're the first one to venture inside. Laura quickly follows after them, closing the door behind her.

A thin strip of sunlight streams through the panel of glass in the front door. It illuminates a small section of the hallway, but everything further in is coated in darkness. It makes sense that a vampire wouldn't be big on windows. The house, or what Laura can see of it, looks familiar. She tells LaF this, and they play devil's advocate, pointing out that Mattie's house looks a lot similar to the Dean's. "Maybe it just _looks_ familiar."

"Maybe." Laura agrees, but she doesn't really believe it. She's been here before. She knows she has. "Come on. I want to check out the front room." She takes the lead, heading straight for the parlour. Laura doesn't want to be in Mattie's house any longer than she needs to be; and she certainly doesn't want to be there when Mattie gets back.

"Damn it. This can't be right." Laura stops in her tracks when she walks in to a room that looks very different from the one she remembers. The armchairs are gone from in front of the ornate fireplace. Instead, there's a small love seat and a side table. The floral wallpaper has been replaced by neutral beige paint, and there are no candles in sight. "It didn't look like this last night!"

"Laura..." LaF's tone is soft and reassuring as they place a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "Maybe it _was_ just a dream. Things have been pretty hectic lately, and you're working harder than ever – "  
"It wasn't a dream! It happened! Mattie bit me!" Laura explodes in to a tiny ball of rage. "She bit me, and now she's trying to make it look like I'm making it up! I swear, LaF, I was here last night!"

"Okay. I believe you." LaF holds their hands up in the air, palms facing outwards in a universal sign of surrender. "If you say it happened, then it happened. Now. How do we prove it?" Laura is so overjoyed to have someone believe her that she throws her arms around LaF, pulling them in close for an impromptu hug.

She doesn't have the first clue how to answer. Carmilla isn't going to believe that her devoted sister bit her human girlfriend without some pretty solid kind of proof. "Huh, did you change your shampoo? You smell like lavender." LaF's offhanded comment sparks something in Laura's memories. She jumps back, grinning like an idiot.

"The bathroom!" With that, she's running up the stairs, taking them two at a time as she heads for the bathroom. Stopping at the door, she waits for LaFontaine to catch her up. "She might have changed the décor downstairs, but the bathtub is crazy old. I'm guessing antique. She won't have wanted to change that. "It's an old fashioned copper tub, really deep, and it has these ornate brass feet...and her shampoo smells like lavender!"

Laura eventually throws the door open, preying that the original tub is still there. She hits pay-dirt. "See! I'm not crazy!" Laura announces, looking a _little_ on thecrazy side as she waves a bottle of shampoo around in front of LaF's face. "She _did_ bite me! Just like she kissed me the other – "

"Whoa! Hold the phone. She _kissed_ you? Mattie? Carmilla's sister. She kissed you?" LaFontaine can't quite believe what they've just heard.  
"That doesn't matter now! I can prove I was here! I can prove what Mattie did to me!"  
"Maybe that isn't the best idea..."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Laura snaps, still pointing the shampoo bottle right at LaF's face. They take it away from her, placing it back down on the side of the tub.  
"I dunno, telling your bad-ass vampire girlfriend that her equally bad-ass, and ancient, vampire sister, _bit_ you, a day after she _kissed_ you... I just don't see Carmilla taking it that well. What if... What if she goes after Mattie, and Mattie..."

"She could kill her." Laura finishes for them. She hadn't thought about that. She's so used to thinking of Carmilla as this invincible hero, that she's forgotten what it feels like to worry about her; what it felt like when she thought she was dead. "This was a mistake." Laura starts backing out of the room. They need to get out of here. She has to go find Carmilla and tell her it was a dream after all. She can't let her confront Mattie. She can't be the reason Carmilla gets hurt. Again. "We need to – "

"Carmilla, darling, of _course_ I didn't bite your little playmate." Mattie's voice sounds from somewhere downstairs in the house. It's too late to make a retreat. Carmilla's voice trails after her, followed by the sound of the front door closing. They're screwed.

"Hide!" Laura hisses at LaF, glancing wildly around the stark bathroom. There's nowhere for them to hide in there; and every chance that either Mattie or Carmilla may need to use the bathroom before they leave again. "Follow me!" Laura orders, practically dragging LaF along with her as she eases the door open and dives in to the first room she spots.

They wind up in a bedroom. There are plenty places for them to hide in there. Laura picks the closet, of all places, and LaF can't help but snicker at the irony. Laura just rolls her eyes, and hunkers down, waiting for it to be safe to leave again.

The voices of the two vampires grow louder as they start arguing. "...Did you see Laura yesterday?"  
"You know I did. During her broadcast."  
"But not again after that?"  
"No... Do you honestly believe I would feed from that little thing?"

"That _little thing_ is my girlfriend!" Carmilla snaps, her voice growing even louder.  
"So you've said. Numerous times." Mattie sounds more amused than angry. "I didn't touch your precious little human."

"Good; because if you did – "  
"You'd what?" Mattie shoots the younger vampire down with a hard glare. Carmilla falters. She's nowhere near as old, or as powerful, as her sister. Her threats are empty, and they both know it.  
"Just leave her alone, Mattie. I mean it. If anything happens to her... I'd never forgive you."

"Carmilla, my favourite little monster, I would never do anything to hurt you. I've only ever had your best interests at heart." Mattie moves to embrace the younger woman, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. It's the truth. She only wants Carmilla to be happy. The human girl she's so infatuated with will only end up hurting her. In the long run, Mattie is helping; even if Carmilla doesn't quite realise it. She'll come around. Sooner or later.

Laura breathes out a sigh of relief as she hears the front door again. She's just stepped out of her hiding place when she hears a creak on the stairs. "Crap!" The freshman hisses, pushing a startled LaF back towards the closet. They just get the door closed over when Mattie waltzes in to the room. For the first time since they dived in to the closet, Laura notices the clothes hanging on the rails behind them. Expensive silk blouses and tailored suits...

She bites back a groan. They're in Mattie's bedroom. Of course they are.

"You know, the closet isn't the most ingenious of hiding places. You might as well have hid behind the curtains." Mattie takes a seat on the queen sized bed in the centre of the room. She inspects her nails with a lazy kind of interest as she waits for the two students to finish playing hide and seek. There's some hushed whispering, and a rustling of clothing, before the door finally creaks open.

Laura is the first one out. She has the good grace to look sheepish about being caught hiding in Mattie's closet.  
LaF trails after her, their head hung low. "Might I ask what the two of you think you are doing?" The Dean demands, her gaze fixed solely on Laura.  
"Uh... We _really_ liked your shoes and we wanted to –" LaF starts, but Mattie doesn't want to hear it.

"Silence! I don't actually care what you're doing in here. Leave in the next five seconds, and I'll think about allowing you continue to draw breath."  
"Got it. Come on Laura..." LaF grabs the freshman's arm, but Mattie steps in to stop her.  
"Just you, Pumpkin. Laura stays." Mattie's shark-like eyes narrow on Laura, judging her reaction. The tiny human doesn't flinch.

"Not a chance!" LaF protests, her grip on Laura's arm tightening. "I'm not leaving without her!"  
"It's okay." The smaller girl reassures her. "I'll be okay. Just go."  
"Laura..." LaF bites down on their lip, unsure of whether to stand their ground and fight.  
"It's fine. She won't hurt me. You heard what she said to Carm."

LaFontaine doesn't like it, but they know Laura is right. Relenting, they nod curtly, squeezing Laura's hand once before leaving. Mattie doesn't even bother to watch them go. Her focus is still fixed on Laura. She leans back on the bed, pushing her chest out and tilting her chin back to scrutinize the defiant human girl.

She's silent for a long time, making Laura grow increasingly uncomfortable. She's thinking about just making a break for the door when Mattie finally speaks again. Her voice is calm and level. "Just how stupid do you have to be to walk willingly in to the lion's den? _Twice..."_ Her lips curl up in to a cruel smirk, and Laura glances longingly at the open door. "Don't think you can outrun me, child. Many pretty little girls, just like you, have tried. None made it more than a few steps."

"What do you want from me?" Laura finds her voice; even if it comes out broken and trembling. Mattie's smirk only widens, unnerving the human girl even more.  
"I think I've made that quite clear." The vampire moves in a blur, coming at Laura with inhuman speed. She barely has time to raise her arms up in front of herself before Mattie is right there in front of her, pinning her back against the closet door.

Laura is helpless as she squeezes her eyes shut. She expects to feel Mattie's fangs ripping at her throat when the vampire pins her arms above her head. The searing pain of her bite doesn't come though.

Instead, Laura finds Mattie's lips crushing down against her own. She kisses her with a frantic kind of passion, leaving Laura choking to take a breath. She nips at her bottom lip, making the shell shocked human bleed. Taking Laura's bloodied lip between her own, she gently sucks on it, drawing out more of the sweet nectar that fills the girl's veins.

Mattie's eyes are black as night as she finally draws back, still holding Laura's arms above her head. Her fangs are showing as she runs her tongue over the tips of them, savouring every last drop of Laura's blood. "I want to help my poor, foolish, little sister clean up her mess... Starting with you."

* * *

"Carmilla! Carmilla!" LaF is shouting at the top of their voice as they run full steam ahead, trying to flag Carmilla down as she crosses the quad. The vampire stops, rolling her eyes at the advancing ginger. It's never good when one of Laura's friends comes running at her.  
"Seriously? Laura's not here. Go bother _her_ with whatever emergency – "  
"Laura's at Mattie's house! We were hiding in there and she found us, and she told me to leave, and Laura's still there, and I..."

Carmilla doesn't hear the rest. She's already racing back the way she just came from. LaF has no chance of keeping up with her, but they know where she's going. Carmilla can't afford to wait for them; she might already be too late.


	5. Chapter 5

"What did you do?" Carmilla's eyes bulge at the horrifying sight in front of her. The heavy, metallic, scent of blood hangs in the air. Rather than arouse her hunger, it only serves to make Carmilla sick to her stomach. Bile rises up in the back of her throat.

Laura lies at Mattie's feet, her small body crumpled and still. Her eyes are closed over. She doesn't rouse, not even when Carmilla starts shouting. "What did you do, Mattie?" Carmilla knows exactly what her sister has done; even if she isn't quite ready to acknowledge it.

Her eyes start to sting as she carries on staring at Laura's unmoving form, while tears openly fall down her cheeks. A righteous anger burns in the pit of her stomach. She can't quite bring herself to accept what it is she's seeing. Her girlfriend is pale and still, but if she ignores the blood running down the side of Laura's neck, Carmilla can almost fool herself in to believing that she's just sleeping.

"I only did what you were too weak to do." Mattie answers, sounding very matter of fact as she steps over Laura's body. The human girl looks so much smaller, curled up on her side on the floor. Carmilla's anger grows as Mattie tries to reach for her.

Pulling away, Carmilla's top lip curls back and a snarl rips its way out of her throat. "You didn't need to do this...Laura...She... She deserved better..."  
"This is __exactly__ what I needed to do!" Mattie gestures behind her. "Tell yourself whatever you need to, Kitten. You know full well it had to happen this way. I just spared you a lifetime of misery... watching the thing you cherish so much wither and die before your very eyes."

"It wasn't your choice to make!" Carmilla rushes her older sister in a fit of anger. Mattie barely seems to move a muscle, but somehow the younger vampire ends up on her ass. LaFontaine bursts in to the room just in time to witness Carmilla being put down. They look between Carmilla and Laura, then back to Carmilla again, frozen in place.

"Run!" Carmilla growls at them. Laura wouldn't want her friend caught in the crossfire of the two warring vampires. LaFontaine doesn't hear her, or if they do, they don't listen. Carmilla can't afford to pay them any more attention. She tried.

Getting back to her feet, she makes a second attempt at charging Mattie. It ends even more violently than her first attempt, with the older vampire lifting her clean off her feet and tossing her aside as easily as if she were a rag-doll.

Carmilla crashes in to the door of the closet Laura and LaF had been hiding in earlier. The wood splinters under the force of her impact. Carmilla lands in a heap on the floor, a chunk of the door embedded in her thigh. The pain is immense, but it's nothing compared to what she feels when her eyes land on Laura again.

The human girl is just as she was, lying quiet and still on the floor. LaF is kneeling beside her, desperately searching for a pulse that they will not find, asking Laura for signs of life that she can't give. "Laura... Laura, open your eyes, sweetie. Please... Laura..."

Carmilla lets out a grunt of pain as she pulls out the chunk of wood that is impaling her thigh. She tosses it aside, ignoring the blood that has pooled beneath her leg. Vampires don't bleed for very long. The wound is already closing over as Carmilla drags herself to her feet. She limps out of the shattered closet, gritting her teeth as pain pulsates up and down the length of her leg.

"You never did know when to stay down, did you?" Mattie stares at her long and hard. She lets her get up close, and then knocks her right back down. The younger vampire is no real threat to her. She just doesn't want to hurt her sister any more than she has to.

"Its better this way, whether you can see it right now or not. I __know__ you, Monster. You wouldn't have walked away. Not from __her.__ Not even when her beauty would start to fade, or when people would begin to ask whether she was your mother. You'd have stayed by her side for every last torturous moment of her, terribly, short life."

"I would have..." Carmilla agrees, nodding blankly as tears start falling thick and fast down her cheeks. Her anger is quickly fading, leaving only a queer kind of emptiness in her chest. She feels hollow and numb as she pushes her hair away from her face; her back to Laura's body.

"You love her." Mattie's voice takes on a gentler tone as she kneels down in front of the other woman. It's a statement, not a question. Carmilla nods anyway. She's been afraid of saying it out loud for so long that, even now, she can't bring herself to say it. The vampires are so absorbed in one another that they fail to notice LaF trying to get their attention.

"She's waking up... Laura! Laura, can you hear me?" LaFontaine is kneeling over the freshman, on the verge of crying with relief as Laura's eyes crack open.  
"LaF?" She frowns up at her friend, struggling to piece together fragments of memories as she sits up. "What's going on?"

"I'll fill you in later. Right now we've got to get moving. Can you stand? How do you feel?" LaFontaine casts a cautious glance over at Mattie. Carmilla is doing a good job of keeping her distracted, stopping the older vampire from going after Laura a second time.  
"I... I feel... hungry."

"The choice still wasn't yours to make!" Carmilla growls at her big sister, giving her a shove for good measure as Mattie tries to offer her a hand to get back to her feet. "I never wanted this for her...never." Carmilla's jaw is tightly clenched as she glares at the older vampire. She knows Laura is awake. She just can't bring herself to look at her yet. Her righteous anger is the only thing holding her together right now.

"Uh, Carmilla?" LaF calls out, but the vampire still aren't paying any attention to them. Laura, however, is. Her eyes seem darker somehow, as they stare longingly at the pale skin of LaFontaine's neck. "We might have a problem – aaargh!" Laura lunges forward, all sharp teeth and clawing fingernails as she yanks LaF's head back and sinks her exposed fangs in to their neck. They only manages a single, shrill, scream before the pain and the terror all get too much. They're stunned in to silence as Laura rips at their throat.

Blood dribbles down Laura's chin. It coats her lips and teases its way down the back of her throat. It tastes __so__ good. Sweeter than any soda, richer than any cupcake. Laura needs more of it. She bites down harder, oblivious to the fact that it's LaFontaine she's chowing down on. Friendships, loyalty and love mean nothing to her right now. All that matters is the blood rushing in to her mouth, filling the seemingly bottomless pit that is her hunger.

"Laura!" Strong hands grip at her shoulders, trying to prise her away from an all too still LaFontaine. Their usually pale pallor is somehow even lighter, giving their skin the appearance of delicate porcelain. Laura doesn't see it. She doesn't see __them.__ All the teenager sees is red.

"Laura, stop! You're killing them!" Carmilla carries on trying to tug Laura away, but her grip on her friend's throat doesn't loosen. Carmilla is still treating her with kid-gloves, acting like she's some weak, tiny, human. She's not. Not anymore.

"Enough!" Mattie roars out, grabbing Laura by the scruff of the neck. Like the dominant lion in a pride, she exerts her authority as she pulls the teenage free from her hemorrhaging friend, tossing her aside like a disobedient cub. Carmilla tenses as Laura slams off the hard wood floor. It's hard to break the habit of a lifetime; and it's impossible for her to see her girlfriend as anything other than the frail, accident prone human girl she once was. Mattie isn't blinded by sentiment.

Laura hisses at the imposing older vampire. She launches blindly forward, intent on getting back to the sweet red nectar that she craves so much. "Laura, that's enough!" Carmilla finally steps up to the plate, grabbing the younger girl from behind and pinning her arms down to her sides. She kicks out and flails, but the inch or so of height, and three centuries of experience, give Carmilla the added advantage as she holds her steadfast.

"You were hurting them! You could have killed LaFontaine!" Carmilla shouts, straining to be heard over Laura's roars of protest.

The words make it past the haze of Laura's blood-lust. Reality finally starts to sink in as she stops trying to fight free of her girlfriend's embrace. Laura stills, her eyes finally __seeing__ LaFontaine lying there on the floor, unmoving. "Carm..." Laura lets out a pained whimper. Her nails dig in to the bare flesh of Carmilla's arms, but it's not to push them away. She tries to draw Carmilla closer, like a favoured comforter, as she witnesses the horror of what she's just done. What she almost did...

"It's okay." Carmilla soothes in her ear. Her lips press against Laura's hair as she closes her eyes over tightly, trying to block the rest of the world out for just one more moment. "I've got you. You're going to be okay."


	6. Chapter 6

"Get out." Carmilla is on her feet the second Mattie waltzes through the door. She stands between her sister and her girlfriend, no longer sure where her loyalties are supposed to lie. Carmilla has forgiven her sister for a lot of things over the centuries – and vice versa – but she can't make any excuses for her now.

"I'd think long and hard about what you're doing before you kick me out of here." Mattie glances over at the couch, where Laura is curled up in a ball. Carmilla has only just got her to stop crying. "You need me."  
"No. No I don't...We don't." Carmilla holds her ground in front of Laura and her friends.

Dr Frankenstein is sat on a bunch of cushions on the floor in front of Laura. For all the littlest vampire almost drained them dry, LaFontaine is still fiercely loyal. They don't blame Laura for what happened back at Mattie's house. Perry isn't quite so forgiving. She keeps giving Laura wary, sidelong, glances as she fusses over LaFontaine, trying to force them to drink glass after glass of orange juice.

"Really?" Mattie cocks an eyebrow. "And what do you think would have happened tonight, had I not intervened when your girlfriend tried to make a snack out of that one?" She nods at LaFontaine. Laura would have bled them dry by the time Carmilla pulled her away; and everyone in the room knows it.

"I wouldn't have gone after LaF if it wasn't for you!" Laura snaps. It's the first thing she's said in hours. Her throat feels rough. She can still feel her friend's blood coating the inside of her mouth. It makes her want to puke, but at the same time it also makes her hungry; that just makes the urge to gag come on even stronger.

"Let's not split hairs over the details, Sweetie." Mattie narrows her eyes on the fledgling vampire, before moving them over to Carmilla. "The simple fact is, you need me now. Both of you."

"What I need is for you to leave." Carmilla keeps her voice low and steady. She knows Mattie's right. Mattie is always right. That doesn't mean Carmilla has to be happy about it though. "Laura needs some time-"

"The little rugrat has eternity now. That's the point." Mattie sighs. "Fine. Take some time. Think it over. Just don't take too long. The little scamp will be hungry again soon." With that, Mattie flounces off, leaving her warning hanging in the air like a bad omen.

"She's right." Laura stiffens, wrapping her arms around herself as she curls up in a ball. There's a resigned note to her tone, like she's already given up. "I can't be here. I can't... I can't be responsible for someone I care about dying."

"Laura-" LaFontaine reaches out for her as she tries to stand. Laura jerks away from them. She already has the taste of their blood, the last thing she wants to do is hurt one of her best-friends for a second time.

She moves too quickly in her effort to put some distance between her and LaF. One moment she's curled up on the couch, the next she's crashing in to the bookcase on the other wall. "Laura!" Carmilla races to her side, dropping down beside her to comfort the confused teen.

She expects her to pull away, to blame her for every sorry thing that's happened to her since she came to Silas. Instead, Laura grabs at her shirt, pulling her in closer and burying her face in the crook of Carmilla's neck. "I think we should go have that talk with your sister."

"Laura!" Danny bursts in through the front door just as Laura is getting back to her feet. The loud bang of the door flying against the wall startles the fledgling vampire. A growl rips its way out of her throat and her fangs tear through her gums. Danny skids to a stop, not a foot from the other girl. She swallows hard, unable to process what it is she's seeing. "...Laura? What the hell's going on? Karnstein?" Shock turns to anger as she turns her accusing glare to Carmilla.

Carmilla doesn't deny anything. She doesn't say anything. Even if she didn't turn Laura herself, she's still responsible for it. Mattie did this for her; and now Laura has to pay the price. "What...what the hell did you do?" Danny demands some answers. Her fists are clenched at her sides and she's actually trembling with rage.

Her anger has her blood pumping so fast that Laura can actually hear it. She can hear everything. It's so loud and confusing. She has no idea how Carmilla can stand it. The noise isn't the only thing overwhelming her either.

Laura only just ate and she's already starving. The muscles in her stomach are clenching in protest, like she hasn't eaten in a week. It's hard to focus on anything else when she's so hungry; and Danny's heart is pounding so loudly.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"Danny, now isn't a great time..." The hunger pangs are quickly turning in to physical pain. Laura needs something to take the edge off. She knows she'll be alright if she can just get something inside of her. Something sweet, and warm and...

"Laura!" She isn't sure who screams her name. Maybe it's Danny. Maybe it's Carmilla. It might have even been both of them. It doesn't matter. She reaches Danny before anyone can move to stop her.

It only seems to take one fluid step and she's right there, clawing to reach at Danny's long, elegant neck and enticing jugular. The other girl's height is the only thing that saves her from having her throat ripped out. Carmilla reaches Laura before she can do any real damage, wrapping her arms tightly around the struggling teen's waist.

Laura is still young and inexperienced. It's easy for Carmilla to get a handle on her; this time at least. "Laura! Calm down! Laura! Stop it!" She squeezes her tighter than she would have ever dared to, back when Laura was human.

"Xena, fridge! Go!" She snaps at the stunned girl, kicking her in to action. It takes a second for the command to sink in, but once it does, Danny takes off at full speed. LaFontaine tries to get up off the floor to help, but Perry practically has them pinned down, keeping them away from the danger.

"Got it!" Danny tosses the blood bag she got from the fridge, hurling it through the air like a well aimed fast-ball. Carmilla catches it with one hand, the other still pinning Laura firmly against her. She doesn't hold on to it for very long.

Laura snatches the blood pack out of her hand, not even bothering with the little plastic top. She rips it open with her teeth, sloppily spilling blood all down her front and over her hands She devours the blood in a frenzy, gulping it down like it's her last meal.

Only once it's gone does the haze seem to wear off. The bag drops from her sticky fingers. She stares at it, looking as disgusted with herself as Danny and Perry do. Carmilla looks guilty – and maybe even a little hungry – while LaFontaine just looks fascinated by it all.

Laura can't take her eyes off her hands. "Carm..." She whimpers, her own fangs sinking in to her bottom lip as she worries at it.

"It's okay, Cupcake. It's okay. Come on." Carmilla covers Laura's hands with her own, leading her towards the door while she glares at Danny, daring her to stop them.

* * *

"She's asleep. Finally." Carmilla sighs as she comes walking out of Mattie's spare room, closing the door behind her. Her older sister is waiting patiently with a glass of wine for her. Carmilla takes it without protest. She's saving her objections up for later.

"Poor baby, all tired out from her first rampage." Mattie coos, like a proud parent fussing over their child's first word. "We'll let her sleep. You and I can make the necessary arrangements."

"Who says we're going anywhere with you?" Carmilla huffs. It's mostly just to save face. She knows she needs to get Laura somewhere safe; somewhere she won't be able to accidentally kill any of the people she loves. She's still pissed at Mattie though, so she isn't about to roll over and admit she needs her.

Mattie regards her with an amused smile. "As much as I'd love to indulge your little tantrum, you know I'm right. We need to get away from Silas. If she stays she'll hurt someone. She may even kill one of her playmates." Laura would never forgive herself if that happened, and they both know it.

Carmilla isn't ready to just go ahead and forgive her sister so easily though. She keeps Mattie on the hook a little longer. "You played her this whole time, didn't you?" Carmilla crosses her arms over her chest, glaring daggers at the older vampire. "You wanted Laura to brake in here. You wanted an excuse to turn her."

"She was on my property. I was within my right to defend my interests... Besides, she and her friends wiped out half of our kin not so long ago. Turning her was the obvious first step in rebuilding our family." Mattie shrugs as they walk in tandem down the stairs, retiring to the parlour. She slinks in to an overstuffed chair, looking far too pleased with herself for Carmilla's liking. "Don't act so coy. I only did what you weren't capable of doing yourself."

"I never asked you to turn her..." Carmilla sulks.

"You never asked me not to, either. Did you?" Mattie gives her a pointed stare back. "Don't even try and tell me you didn't want this. You can act all indignant in front of the children, but we both know you're relieved... You wanted this, Kitty-Cat. Don't deny it." Carmilla says nothing. She doesn't need to; her silence speaks volumes in and of itself.

"Where are we going?" Carmilla knows her sister has a plan. She wouldn't have turned Laura otherwise. Everything with Mattie is calculated, the older vampire is usually at least two steps ahead of Carmilla; she always has been.

Mattie doesn't miss a beat before answering. "I still have the chalet in Geneva. We can take her there while she adjusts. I'll make the arrangements for our passage in the morning."

"Then what?" Both vampires look up as Laura's timid voice carries from the foot of the stairs. A moment later and she appears at the doorway.

She has Carmilla's red silk robe wrapped around her, since the clothes she was wearing earlier got covered in blood. Despite what she is now, what Mattie has made her in to, she looks so vulnerable. Standing there, with her arms wrapped around her chest, Laura looks so small and lost.

She looks just like the child she is.

"And then, my dear, we show you the world." Mattie's smile is all fang as she turns it on Laura. It still unnerves the teenager, even now. The playing field still isn't exactly level. They might be the same species now, but Mattie still has a millennia on the fledgling vampire. "Of course, it will take a decade or two before you get a handle on your urge to snack on your friends... You can't see them. You understand that."

"Yeah. I figured that one out for myself, thanks." Laura answers bitterly. Carmilla feels a pang of guilt. She knows how much Laura's friends mean to her; it will kill her to leave them behind. Carmilla moves to stand by Laura, hoping to comfort her.  
"Laura, this isn't 1698. You can call them, and there's that Skype thing and-"

"I could call my Dad every day, and it still wouldn't be enough for him. Nothing I could tell him would stop him coming looking for me... He'd move heaven and earth to find me." Laura casts her eyes down in anguish, and her jaw tightens as her resolve strengthens. She knows what she has to do.

Mattie is quicker on the uptake than Carmilla is. She nods solemnly, understanding what Laura is asking of her. "We'll come up with something appropriate. Something relatively painless, and which won't leave a body."  
"Just as long as it's not multiple choice..." Laura mutters quietly. Carmilla has never seen her looking so resigned before. It's like the spark inside of her died along with her humanity.

But then Laura's hand reaches out and takes hold of Carmilla's. She draws strength from her lover. Eternity won't be so bad with Carmilla beside her. Laura looks up again. Her gaze is steely as it narrows on the oldest vampire. "I appreciate what you're doing to help me; but I will never forget that you caused all of this to begin with. I will hate you forever !"

The teenager growls out the last word, making her feelings for Carmilla's older sister – who is technically now Laura's own sire – crystal clear. Mattie lets out a hollow laugh, taking the threat on the chin. " Forever is a long time my darling. You'll feel differently in a century or two... After-all, we're family now."


End file.
